Android 009
by P1Bres
Summary: Jiro was ready to try and move on with his life after the death of his brothers and every other android he had come across... But Ichiro stumbling right back into his life raised too many questions to even allow him to try. Joe Shimamura was trying to live about as normally as a cyborg could when an attack out of nowhere ruins any chance of that. As their paths begin to entagle,
1. Chapter 1

Did I basically write part of a fic that was like this before? Yes.

Did I make enough changes to the later ideas for the plot that I felt I needed to restart it? Yes.

Is this fic already like 7 chapters ahead on Ao3? Yes.

* * *

iro had begun to think he was truly free of his guilt when he was able to find his way back to Mitsuko and her family. Though maybe 'find his way back' was the wrong term to be using. He had found himself wandering back towards the ruined remains of their home, expecting to find the place empty and alone as before…

But they'd been there, looking out upon what had happened with confusion clear in their every move. He hadn't even paused a moment before running towards them, tears in his eyes. He'd made it his goal to find them again, but he never thought they would walk right back into his life…! He'd thought he would have to hunt them down.

Mitsuko and Masaru were overjoyed to see him, running straight into his arms when they noticed him. Mitsuko clung to him, crying for a long time. Masaru refused to let go of his leg for the entire day, even when they went into town to try and find a hotel to stay at.

When they found one and sat down to try and explain everything that had happened, though, things went south rather quickly. Jiro didn't know how to explain other androids, some made by Doctor Komyoji, others not, and how them coming into his life had led to the destruction of their home. He didn't know how to describe all the events that transpired that led to it, or the children that were Gill's, now safely being raised by someone they could trust. And he couldn't bring himself to reveal the fate of even one of the androids he'd come across in his journey. It hurt too much to even think about.

Thankfully, no one pushed him on the subject, so he didn't have to think about it too long. But still, even just thinking about him had made a pang run through his chest. Maybe there was still some guilt weighing on him. It was hard to fully forgive yourself for killing your own brothers, after all.

He was still making steps in the right direction, he liked to think. He wasn't being eaten away at by the guilt at every moment anymore, after all. It was possible to breathe, and enjoy at least the small moments.

Enough so that he agreed to going on vacation with the Komyoji's when they revealed their plans to do as much. Apparently, after the destruction of their home, they decided they should go somewhere nice as it was rebuilt. They didn't want the doctor to become too stressed so shortly after recovery, after all.

They wasted no time packing their bags up again, moving from one hotel to another, quite a distance away from their destroyed home. It was a nice area, with a beach for them to go to if they wanted.

Sadly, Jiro's hands were a bit to mechanical and his body a bit too robotic for him to go along, but that was fine. He would stay at the hotel and try and get some rest. He could use a nap, if he was being totally honest.

He let his eyes close, consciousness drifting away…

 _And he was in front of his fallen brothers. Rei and Ichiro, broken as he had left them… Only they weren't in their battle forms as they had been when he killed them. They were in their human forms, skin and clothes torn, revealing wires and scraps of jagged metal…_

 _He closed his eyes and tried to walk forward, ignore the expressions on their faces. And then his foot his against something and he felt something in one of his hands. He didn't want to look at what it was, but he felt as if he was being forced to do just that._

 _And so they slowly opened. Laying at his feet was yet another brother of his, Saburo. One that he had nearly forgotten about after all this time. His body lay there, also in his human form. An arm and his head missing._

 _A knot formed in his stomach as he raised his hand, in it, the missing head._

 _A scream escaped him as he threw it towards the body, backing away as he shook. He backed away, trying to get away from the scene, only to trip over yet another body, falling to the ground._

 _He looked to see just who it was he tripped on, expecting the body of Rei or Ichiro… But it was a mess of parts, none belonging to any of his brothers. Rieko and Mieko's remains instead were sprawled in front of him, his stomach twisting as he stared at them._

 _"This can't be happening… Things are getting better." He closed his eyes again, placing his hands on either side of his head. "Things are getting better..."_

 _"Jiro…" The voices of every fallen android began filling his head. That was right, even if he covered his ears, he was sure to hear something. This was a dream, after all… "Jiro, Jiro… Jiro-"_

"Jiro!" His eyes snapped open at the sound of Mitsuko's voice. "Jiro, are you alright?"

He sat up, brow furrowed. "I'm fine… I just had a bad dream."

Mitsuko frowned, clearly worried about how vague he was being. "Would you like to talk about it…?"

"No, I'll be fine." He shook his head and did his best to give her a reassuring smile. "I think I need to get out of this room, though."

"Well, how about you come with us to dinner?" Mitsuko's voice was soft as she offered. "Masaru asked me to come and invite you, and if you need to get out of this room… It'll be good for both of you. I know you can't eat, but…"

Jiro thought for a moment before standing, nodding. "Alright, let's go."

He walked alongside her, their hands brushing against each other. He felt a little better with her at his side, but his stomach was still in knots. He was sure he wouldn't be able to shake that feeling easily, either.

But he would do his best to smile for Mitsuko and Masaru. They had worried about him greatly before, and he didn't want to make that happen again. The last thing he wanted was to cause them more issues, after all.

And so the entire walk there and the entire time they ate, he did his best to keep up with the conversation. Den asked him a few times about things, and he did his best to reply… But it was a bit hard when Masaru kept trying to butt in with how boring he found it. It was honestly adorable watching him trying to keep up. He wished this would never end.

It, of course, did come to an end, though. All things did, after all. When the Komyojis stood to use the restroom and pay, he was once again left in his thoughts. The nightmare was still eating at him, and it wasn't as easy to ignore without someone there to talk to. He just hoped this wouldn't become a norm after how far he'd come.

He sighed, standing. Maybe he should wait for them outside, the fresh air could do him some good. A reminder that things were good, the skies blue as birds chirped happy tunes. It was time to leave the past in the past.

He walked outside, sucking in a deep breath, and expelling it slowly. As if trying to expel the thoughts and memories still trying to hold him down. It was time to fully move on-

"Jiro?!" A familiar voice made him snap his attention towards it. He knew that outfit, that hair style, that bike…

"I-Ichiro…?!" Jiro approached his brother without a second thought. "You… How are you here?! You were destroyed!"

"I was told you were destroyed!" Ichiro frowned as he looked his brother over. "But you look just as good as when I last saw you… Hell, even better!"

"I could say the same to you…" Jiro's brow furrowed. "Did someone rebuild you…?" Who would have the know-how to do that?

"Well, uh…" Ichiro looked around, as if worried someone was listening in. "I'll have to tell you that later! When I know that cyborg isn't stalking around somewhere…"

"Cyborg?"

"I'll tell you later! For now, let's get somewhere private!"


	2. Chapter 2

Another chapter, since it hasn't deviated too much from the original version of this fic yet. Though that'll be changing soon enough, lmao.

* * *

Joe Shimamura was enjoying the time he wasn't stuck fighting off threats like Black Ghost with the others quite a bit. Despite everything that had happened (or maybe because of it), it was nice to get a break every once in a while. Chang was happily running a restaurant, Great Britain assisting him and visiting it often; Francoise had picked up a few hobbies in town, including a few she could take Ivan to when he was awake; Doctor Gilmore was pretty hush-hush about what he was doing but he did seem to be enjoying himself…

It was nice. There was almost a sense of normalcy surrounding them and, well, he hoped that was the case for the cyborgs who'd separated from their group, too. They probably all needed times where they could feel at peace like this.

He walked down a path, the area covered in trees. It didn't seem a very walked path, but it was nice. A lot of nature around to see, animals to hear… Well, to a certain point. After a while, things seemed to get deadly quiet.

That was strange, he'd never seen that happen around here before… It was also kind of worrying, if he was being honest. What was making the sounds that had been nearly constant come to a halt? What was making the animals far and few between?

He was about to take a step off the path to try and see if he could find a clue of what was going on when a fist drove into his gut, with enough strength to make him stagger back. That was stronger than your average punch, was this some sort of cyborg…?

Out from between the trees stepped a man, dressed in black motorcycle suit. His gloves and boots were white, though not a spec of dirt touched them, as if he hadn't been trudging through the woods. The only color to accent his clothes were the yellow buttons on his jacket and a yellow ascot tied around his neck.

His eyes were covered with shades, though the grin on his face told Joe that was face to face with someone who was pretty cocky. Maybe he could use that to his advantage.

"You should turn back now." The man spoke up, pointing towards the way Joe had come. "I have no interest in fighting someone like you, and going any further'll just get you into trouble."

Joe frowned, that confirmed something was going on here. "I'm not going to turn back that easily."

The man clicked his tongue, approaching Joe. "Then I guess I'll have to make you."

Without another word, the man threw his leg around, trying to catch Joe in the side of the face. The cyborg was barely able to dodge the attack as he chewed on the idea of using his accelerator. It'd probably help make this go faster, but at the same time, he didn't want to wear himself out too fast. There could be more after this man, after all.

So he decided against using it, at least for now. He'd been able to dodge the attack when he saw it coming easily enough, after all.

At that point he decided it was time to at least try and go on the offensive. He needed to get through this man to see what was hiding just off the path. He took a running start at him and threw a punch of his own, bringing it up into the man's chin.

The man took a step back, rubbing his jaw. "Not bad, you're stronger than I would've expected some random passerby to be…"

He moved in on Joe again, grabbing him by the hair and flinging him to the side. He was able to recover quickly enough, but his back hurt when he slammed into the trunk of a tree. Wasting no time, Joe took another run at the man, centering a kick right on the side of his face.

His sunglasses went flying and Joe caught a glance of the man's eyes before he went after them. Red, definitely inhuman. They were replaced too quickly for him to gleam much else, however.

The man regained himself quickly after that, bearing down on Joe once again. He shoved his shoulder into him, as if trying to throw him off balance with the sudden force. Joe had to admit, it did send him stumbling.

Enough so that the man almost brought his arm down against the back of Joe's neck… Only to stop suddenly, gripping at his head.

"Not now…" He began to stumble back towards the place in the trees he appeared from. "Bijinder and Waruder'll just have to deal with you…"

With that, he moved out of view and was replaced by two others. A short haired woman who didn't seem that excited to be here, and another man with sunglasses who seemed much more excited about this.

At that point Joe decided there were probably enough of them that he couldn't even scout it on his own. Hell, there could be others creeping around any corner… So he activated acceleration mode and got out of there as fast as he could. Hopefully without being followed.

Soon enough, the home was back in view. Francoise seemed to be leaving, likely to go to that ballet club she had recently joined, but Joe wasted no time ushering her back inside. She was clearly confused, but didn't argue as he shut and locked the door.

Gilmore, however, took no time speaking up when he saw them. "003, didn't you just leave to attend your club? And 009, you look as if you've seen a ghost!"

Joe shook his head. "Not a ghost, but I think a cyborg or an android or something…? And then more of them."

"More? Around here?" Francoise gasped as she moved to Joe's side. "We hadn't had anything like that happen recently…"

"I know, but I'm certain. The first one was too strong and too durable to be completely human." He frowned, moving to sit on the couch. "And when he ran off, he seemed certain the others who'd come up could do what he was doing."

"How odd…" Gilmore frowned, concern clear on his face. "Was anything else out of place."

"The further down the path I went, the less noises there were. I think somethings is hidden out there."

"003, would you see if you can pick up on anything?" Gilmore looked to the woman.

She nodded and soon enough, she was focusing. Francoise frowned as the two men watched on, waiting for any information she would be able to relay to them… But she simply sighed, shaking her head.

"I can't pick anything up. It's either out of range or they're broadcasting a jamming signal to keep anyone like me out." She gave them a sympathetic frown. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, that just means we'll have to go about this some other way…" Gilmore hummed in thought. "I think it would be best to call the other cyborgs. This could very well be an emergency in the making."

Joe nodded. It definitely could be… And it'd be better to be together, with strength in numbers. Less chance of any of them being hurt or caught off guard that way. "I guess we should make some phone calls, then."

Francoise nodded. "I'll go see if Ivan is still sleeping."

"Thank you, 003." Gilmore looked back to Joe. "009, assist me in calling the others back here, please. The sooner they all know, the better."

Joe nodded, heading for the nearest phone. He'd start with Chang and Great Britain, they needed to know to be careful on their way back that night.


End file.
